Bill O'Reilly had a little fun at Karl Rove's expense on Monday night. While appearing on "The O'Reilly Factor" from Las Vegas, Rove whipped out his whiteboard to drive home some points about the upcoming midterm election. When the political strategist finished, O'Reilly warned him not to bring the whiteboard into the casinos. "I don't gamble," Rove said. "With your prediction record, that's a wise move," O'Reilly cracked. "Y'know that was personal and petty," Rove said. "That was personal and petty." "That's me," said O'Reilly. "P and P."

So Karl Rove was involved in a cover-up. Well, leave it to Karl -- the “boy genius” and the “architect” -- to orchestrate a cover-up that actually hides information exculpatory to his President and his party. He did just that on the issue of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq. This is not an outlier either -- this is just Rove being Rove. And ‘Rove being Rove’ has sewn the seeds of destruction that gave us Barack Obama in 2008, and again in 2012, and has scattered political germs that still haunt Republicans to this day. This goes back...

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE www.nationalreview.com PRINT October 19, 2014 12:00 AM Rove Agonistes Karl Rove’s metamorphosis into legend is now complete. By Kevin D. Williamson ‘Karl Rove targets attorney general race in California.” “Who’s afraid of Kamala Harris? Karl Rove!” “Karl Rove Attacks — We Need Your Help!” Karl Rove’s starring role in the 2010 California attorney general’s race came as a surprise to Karl Rove, who wasn’t actually involved in that particular contest. This happens with him all the time. For the Left, Rove served for many years as the go-to bogeyman, the marquee name with which to conjure before...

New media accounts — including coverage by NRO’s Patrick Brennan — confirm what I repeatedly have written since the depths of Operation Iraqi Freedom: The late dictator Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass death, and the United States of America was correct to invade Iraq, find these toxins, and destroy them. Also vital: padlocking this Baathist general store for militant-Islamic terrorism. As I explained on July 17, 2006: While the liberal press gently sleeps, evidence continues to mount that Hussein had WMDs, though perhaps not in quantities that would bulge warehouses. “Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately 500...

THE NEW YORK TIMES REDISCOVERS WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ Iraq War-era partisan fights aside, the real problem now is that they're under ISIS' control. By Laurie Mylroie – 10.17.14 What a difference a decade makes! When it was first reported in May 2004 that Saddam-era chemical weapons shells had injured U.S. troops, the editors of the New York Times dismissed that, “Finding some residual weapons that had escaped a large-scale destruction program would be no great surprise and if the chemicals had degraded, no major threat.” Now, a major New York Times report on the issue has been...

What a difference a decade makes! When it was first reported in May 2004 that Saddam-era chemical weapons shells had injured U.S. troops, the editors of the New York Times dismissed that, “Finding some residual weapons that had escaped a large-scale destruction program would be no great surprise and if the chemicals had degraded, no major threat.” Now, a major New York Times report on the issue has been followed by an editorial warning of “A Deadly Legacy in Iraq”: some 5,000 chemical shells have been discovered over the years in Iraq by U.S. or U.S.-trained Iraqi forces. Many more...

New media accounts — including coverage by NRO’s Patrick Brennan — confirm what I repeatedly have written since the depths of Operation Iraqi Freedom: The late dictator Saddam Hussein did have weapons of mass death, and the United States of America was correct to invade Iraq, find these toxins, and destroy them. Also vital: padlocking this Baathist general store for militant-Islamic terrorism. As I explained on July 17, 2006: While the liberal press gently sleeps, evidence continues to mount that Hussein had WMDs, though perhaps not in quantities that would bulge warehouses. “Since 2003 Coalition forces have recovered approximately...

There’s one man, some Republicans say, who kept the public from learning about the chemical shells littered around the Iraqi battlefield. He was Bush's most important political adviser. Starting in 2004, some members of the George W. Bush administration and Republican lawmakers began to find evidence of discarded chemical weapons in Iraq. But when the information was brought up with the White House, senior adviser Karl Rove told them to ‘let these sleeping dogs lie.’ The issue of Iraq’s WMD remnant was suddenly thrust back into the fore this week, with a blockbuster New York Times report accusing the Bush...

In a new op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Republican strategist Karl Rove warns the GOP that should they make big gains in the November midterm elections, they should focus on passing legislation rather than “score-settling” with President Barack Obama. Rove writes that he anticipates Obama to reject bills sent to him from a Republican Congress but that Obama ” deserves the chance to show he’s matured as a leader and has the energy to govern.” From the op-ed: Mr. Obama is not the only person who must decide how to proceed. Whatever path the president chooses, Republicans must settle...

Karl Rove recently tried to advise Republicans on how the party can more effectively take back the Senate in November. He made two main suggestions. One was that Republican candidates must “make the case for electing someone new who will be a check and balance in the Senate on Mr. Obama and his agenda, rather than returning a Democratic loyalist who toes his line.” Rove’s second suggestion was that the party should “offer a positive, optimistic conservative agenda to make independents who disapprove of Mr. Obama comfortable voting Republican.” Rove is right on both counts, especially about offering a positive...

Kansas Surprise: Orman Leads Roberts by 10 in NBC/Marist Poll BY CARRIE DANN Independent candidate Greg Orman is leading incumbent Republican Sen. Pat Roberts in Kansas by 10 points, while Democrats have a slim lead in North Carolina’s contest and both candidates are in a dead heat in Iowa’s Senate race, new NBC News/Marist polls find. The Kansas poll, which shows Roberts trailing 38 percent to Orman’s 48 percent, is full of bad news for the incumbent and for Republicans, who have suddenly seen Roberts’ sleepy re-election race turn into a very real pickup opportunity for Democrats if Orman decides...

Before you delete this email, we want to explain something. You’ve probably seen this a lot: Email: Chipped in to Defeat Harry Reid's Democrats? NO DONATION Deadline: 11:59 PM Suggested Support: $5.00 Let us explain… We rely on lots of grassroots conservatives to chip in $5 or more, while the other side is able to pressure Hollywood celebrities and limousine liberals to donate millions. In other words, we need your support or we just can’t keep up. If people donate, it adds up fast, but it only works if everyone does their part. And according to our records, you haven’t...

Just as a high stakes gambler in the wrong place at the wrong time might get "rolled" from time to time, Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson appears ripe to get "Roved" yet again based upon reports he's "donated $10 million to a Karl Rove-backed outfit boosting Republican Senate candidates and promised a similar amount to an allied group focused on House races."

But GOP candidates can't simply rely on attacking Democrats for having voted for ObamaCare or, in the case of nonincumbents, supporting it. They should draw attention to the law's pernicious effects on ordinary Americans. By humanizing ObamaCare's shortfalls through stories from ordinary people, Republicans will help explode the myth of liberal competence and compassion, keep this issue fresh through the fall and cause voters to hold Democrats accountable at the polls.

Dear Friend, The conservative principles you and I believe in are in danger. Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are crisscrossing America raising millions of dollars from rich liberals. They now have $11 million more on hand. In 12 days we face a critical deadline: the June End of Quarter FEC Fundraising Deadline. We must end strong to stay close with Pelosi’s campaign machine. This is critical to increasing our majority in the House this November. (SNIP) The deadline is just days away. After the VA scandal, Benghazi, the IRS targeting conservatives, and the Obama Administration trading away 5 Taliban Terrorist...

Last year, American Crossroads, the super-PAC conceived of by Republican operative and fundraiser Karl Rove, hatched a plan: Inject itself into 2014 GOP primary races to protect incumbents from hard-line challengers in the mold of Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock who could cost the party winnable seats in Congress. Immediately, conservatives howled with outrage over an establishment group targeting tea partiers—Mike Huckabee called it "fratricide." The plan never got off the ground, and American Crossroads itself has largely shied away from picking primary fights. But here's an exception: A brand-new Crossroads ad slams Matt Doheny, who's vying with Elise Stefanik...

For the Republicans, New York's 21st congressional district race has become a battle of attack ads. First, American Crossroads, a political action committee co-founded by Karl Rove came out with an ad against Matt Doheny. On Thursday, Doheny told WPTZ he would not release a negative ad against Stefanik and that he wanted to keep the campaign clean. However a few days later, Doheny released an attack ad against his opponent. Then, the super PAC which supports Stefanik released another attack ad against Doheny. -snip- When asked if she thinks American Crossroads’ support or the negative campaign ads against her...

American Crossroads, a Republican super PAC, has released another ad opposing Republican congressional candidate Matthew A. Doheny’s bid for Congress. The ad, “No Conservative,” reviews the “Mistakes” ad released by the PAC last week and calls Mr. Doheny a “perennial loser” for his unsuccessful campaigns for the 21st District seat seat held by Rep. William L. Owens, D-Plattsburgh. Rep. Owens is not seeking re-election. Mr. Doheny is locked in a primary battle with fellow Republican Elise M. Stefanik. The primary election will be held June 24, and the candidates will face off in debates today and Thursday.

American Crossroads, a GOP establishment organization, has decided to shift its political focus almost entirely to the general election and will not be spending money in the likely runoff election to decide the Mississippi Senate nomination that was virtually deadlocked after Tuesday night. Founded by Karl Rove and other Republican strategists, Crossroads and its non-profit affiliate, Crossroads GPS, had not played an active role in supporting GOP Sen. Thad Cochran’s bid to thwart a primary challenge from state Sen. Chris McDaniel, but the group had been working behind the scenes to boost other pro-Cochran super PACs. "Other than Alaska, we...

Neel Kashkari swings an axe in his ubiquitous television commercial. But he hasn't found an axe big enough to cut into Tim Donnelly's lead among Republican voters. A new Hoover Institution "Golden State" poll shows that Kashkari is only pulling 5% of the vote, barely above the 4% margin of error, a distant third behind popular Democrat incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown at 36%, and Tea Party favorite Assemblyman Tim Donnelly with 12%. A large chunk of voters--35% overall--is still undecided. Kashkari will need to tap into those voters in the final few days of the race in order to finish...

Yesterday I noted that the tea party in big states and national elections faces a challenge both in money and support when facing competent, mainstream Republicans. To put it bluntly, there aren’t enough Republicans who think that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a sellout or that the shutdown was a good idea to sustain the tea party in its current form. I’ve suggested that it, in essence, disappears as a distinct subset of the right and, like most insurgent movements, will be soaked up by the larger political entity, in this case the GOP. But are there other things the...

More Republicans are pushing for an immigration overhaul.House Republican leaders are mum on a timetable for advancing immigration overhaul legislation and have so far been noncommittal on moving on the issue before the end of the 113th Congress. But a group of mayors and business leaders from across the political spectrum is determined to prove that momentum is growing for a rewrite of the nation’s immigration laws — even among conservatives. The coalition, Partnership for a New American Economy, on Wednesday held the first in a series of monthly conference calls moderated by Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist...

GOP activist Karl Rove is being accused of gutter politics in a response by Hillary Clinton’s reps after remarks last week, reported by Page Six, that the former secretary of state may have brain damage from a blood clot she suffered in 2012. “From the moment this happened 17 months ago, the right has politicized her health,” Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said in a statement. “First they accused her of faking it. Now they’ve resorted to the other extreme — and are flat-out lying … All he wants to do is inject the issue into the echo chamber, and he’s...

Karl Rove denied Tuesday that he said Hillary Clinton had brain damage. "I didn't say she had brain damage, she had a serious health episode," he told FOX News, suggesting that her hospitalization in January 2013 for a blood clot could thwart her presidential ambitions.

North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-NC), the frontrunner in the North Carolina GOP Senate primary, told a crowd two and half years ago that we must "divide and conquer" people on government assistance. Tillis proposed pitting those who are legitimately in need against those who made bad choices. Tillis made the comments in October 2011 in Asheville, North Carolina. They were reported by local press at the time and are being circulated now by the campaign of Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) whom Tillis is vying to unseat. They were highlighted on MSNBC"s Hardball Monday. "What we have to do...

The two Republican lieutenant governor candidates, David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick, faced off Friday night in a runoff debate. The debate took place at the studios of Houston Public Media. The runoff is May 27. The latest polls show Dewhurst, the current lieutenant governor, far behind Patrick, a state senator. Here’s a look at the race from KUHF, Houston’s public radio station: It's unusual for the incumbent to be unseated, but Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is as many as 20 points behind state Sen. Dan Patrick in the polls.

A new television ad in the lieutenant governors race has a charity demanding an apology. The ad from the David Dewhurst campaign show a series of pictures of Dan Patrick with a tie but no shirt looking as if he’s at a wild party, but a written statement from the Be an Angel Fund reveals that Patrick was literally selling the shirt off his back at a fundraiser to help special needs children.

And yet just when the news is getting good, Rove is calling Silver's whole methodology into doubt. On Wednesday, he tweeted a link to a National Journal column titled "Why I Don't Agree With Nate Silver: Number-crunching Senate prediction models are fun to follow but are not very useful." "Smart piece: may disagree w/ some specifics, but major point is correct," Rove wrote. The major point is that the methodology behind Silver's projections is flawed: "Unlike baseball, where the sample size runs in the thousands of at-bats or innings pitched, these models overemphasize a handful of early polls at the...

SANFORD For months, Republican Thom Tillis’ Senate campaign touted his accomplishments and focused his attacks on Democratic incumbent Kay Hagan, acting like a frontrunner with his eye on November. Now, in the final days before the May 6 primary, Tillis is changing his strategy. Last week, he mailed a flier to voters that attacked his top GOP rival for not paying his property taxes on time. He also debuted a TV ad that trumpets his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Tillis hit the social conservative issues Saturday in his speech at the 2nd Congressional District GOP convention in Sanford....

VIDEO AT LINK On Fox News Channel's "America's Newsroom" on Tuesday, former adviser to President George W. Bush Karl Rove reacted to remarks from former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) that called certain types of illegal immigration an "act of love"...

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Grover Norquist, the influential conservative who serves as president of Americans for Tax Reform, thinks there are only six Republicans who can win the 2016 Republican nomination for president. His list, which he told Business Insider in an approximately hour-long interview Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. "There are only six people who can credibly run start-to-finish, and any of them could conceivably win the presidency," Norquist said....

If 2016 brings another Bush-Clinton matchup, not all famous last names are equal at the start. The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll makes clear why it’s better to be associated with the 42nd president than the 43rd and 41st, at least for now. The poll has plenty of good news for Hillary Rodham Clinton. Two-thirds of Americans say they’d consider voting for Clinton in 2016, and a full 25 percent say they will definitely support her. Again, among all Americans – not just Democrats, or Democrats and independents – one in four say they are fully on board for Hillary...

Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tx.) loves to heap praise for his buddy, Karl Rove, a GOP Establishment political operative, who is calling for Republicans to play nice with Hillary Clinton. Cornyn has described Rove as "my friend for a long time." The Texas Tribune reports that, "Once the Texas GOP's go-to campaign strategist, Karl Rove has become something of a boogeyman for campaigns on both sides of the ballot in the 2014 election cycle." Rove explained that Sen. Cornyn is a true friend of the liberal elite in Washington D.C. Rove is quoted as saying that, “His colleagues like him a...

"JOHN CORNYN RALLY," read the LED billboard outside the Maude Cobb convention center. "NEAL MCCOY CONCERT." After 3 p.m., around a thousand local Republican activists started lining up for all of it. For $25, they could watch a local hero country singer perform a full show, collect all the GOP swag they wanted (in Cornyn tote bags), crack open free peanuts and sodas -- oh, yes, and to meet Texas's senior senator. If they parted with four figures, they could talk to Cornyn and Karl Rove at a private reception before the show. -snip- At the Longview rally, Karl Rove...

The senior senator from Texas predicted little movement in Congress for the rest of the year on immigration reform, or much of anything, during a campaign stop in Longview Sunday. “I think this is going to be about mitigating the policies of the president,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn said, noting the GOP needs a net six-seat gain to win control of the Senate. “We’ll be in strategic position to mitigate some of the harm of some of those policies.” Cornyn brushed off a recent, milder push-back on Obamacare to “mend it, don’t end it.” “You can’t actually update the policies...

Peanuts were cracking and boots were stomping Sunday at a Longview rally for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. More than 1,000 people attended the event at Maude Cobb Convention Center — which featured a performance by Longview resident and country music singer Neal McCoy. Karl Rove, former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush, delivered a short speech to introduce Cornyn. With a large American flag as a backdrop, McCoy led the crowd in a rendition of “the Star-Spangled Banner.” Rick Hulburt, a Hallsville resident, said he and his wife, Mary, decided to attend the event...

Former Bush administration adviser Karl Rove on Sunday cautioned Republicans against a 2016 presidential election strategy that focuses too much on the political history of potential Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Rove told “Fox News Sunday” he was uncertain whether revisiting Clinton and husband Bill Clinton’s years in the White House would help Republicans win the presidency. “It may,” said Rove, now a “Fox News” contributor. “But the trouble for Republicans is it’s easier to say what you’re against than what you are for.” Republicans have tried to knock down a Clinton candidacy essentially since she resigned from her post in...

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is returning to Longview for a fundraiser that aims low at the wallet but high on attendance. “What we’re trying to do with this event is something I don’t think, typically, has been done before,” said John Coppedge, a Longview doctor. “We wanted to have an event that was fun and afforded the opportunity for a lot more people to participate in the process.” Political fundraisers, particularly for national office candidates, tend to be those $1,000-a-plate soirées that most people just hear about. Coppedge said the one planned for Feb. 16 is designed to draw as...

There was an unexpected visitor to a conference on immigration in Tyler Tuesday: President Bush's right-hand-man for years, Karl Rove. One of the most polarizing figures in politics says most Americans have the facts of illegal immigration all wrong. The former Deputy Chief of Staff joined Senator John Cornyn and Congressman Ralph Hall to debate the broader and the finer points of immigration with more than 100 East Texas business leaders. Rove directly took on the issue of the deportation of illegal immigrants. "We can't just root them out and not have some economic damage done to our country. Let's...

One incumbent U.S. senator has decided to campaign a little differently before the Republican Party primary this year. He’s still shaking hands, making speeches and raising funds, of course, but he’ll also be grooving to the beat of hometown country crooner Neal McCoy at a rally and concert from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday at Maude Cobb Convention Center. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, “wanted a fun, affordable opportunity for a lot more people to participate in the election process,” said Longview physician John R. Coppedge, treasurer of the Texas Bipartisan Justice Committee, one group supporting Cornyn’s re-election campaign. Cornyn,...

He said this during a segment on Fox News in which he also insisted that Chris Christieâ€™s presidential hopes are still very much alive. Because of course he did.I did not realize that a few jabs at the Clenis aimed at parrying the leftâ€™s endless â€śwar on womenâ€ť attacks 32 months out from the next election might matter in deciding the presidency. Now I know better. Way to go, Rand. Karl Rove took a shot at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday for attacking Bill Clinton over his Â“predatoryÂ” behavior toward Monica Lewinsky, saying that itÂ’s not good strategy for...

Karl Rove took a shot at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday for attacking Bill Clinton over his “predatory” behavior toward Monica Lewinsky, saying that it’s not good strategy for running for president. “Frankly, Rand Paul spending a lot of time talking about the mistakes of Bill Clinton does not look like a big agenda for the future of the country,” Rove said on Fox’s “America’s Newsroom.” Rove said that candidates for the presidency need to do two things in 2014: make their campaigns about something larger their personal ambitions and strengthen their skills. “I’m not certain, again, that beating...

Second-term U.S. Senator John Cornyn’s influence as Minority Whip is key for Texas and for the Republican Party, says a longtime friend and fundraiser. Longview’s Dr. John Coppedge has known the former Texas Attorney General for more than two decades and is once again sounding the fundraising call as Cornyn seeks a third term in office in November – partnering with other East Texas politicos, he’s putting together a Feb. 16 rally featuring the Texas senator alongside renowned GOP strategist and political pundit Karl Rove and country music star Neal McCoy.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is returning to Longview for a fundraiser that aims low at the wallet but high on attendance. “What we’re trying to do with this event is something I don’t think, typically, has been done before,” said John Coppedge, a Longview doctor. “We wanted to have an event that was fun and afforded the opportunity for a lot more people to participate in the process.” Political fundraisers, particularly for national office candidates, tend to be those $1,000-a-plate soirées that most people just hear about. Coppedge said the one planned for Feb. 16 is designed to draw as...

Congressman Steve Stockman (R-TX) today filed a libel lawsuit challenging numerous false statements made by a John Cornyn super PAC operating under the name “Texans for a Conservative Majority.” The Cornyn PAC claims Stockman had been “jailed more than once,” was “charged with a felony” and “violated federal ethics laws,” all of which are false statements. The website even falsifies Stockman’s voting record, falsely telling voters Stockman voted against a food stamp reform bill (2013 House Roll Call Vote 476) when Stockman, in fact, voted for it. The group continues to promote that statement online, even though they have been...

On Friday, every political campaign had to file its 2013 year end report with the FEC. The reports delivered two big surprises. The Democrats are dominating the Republicans in fundraising. More surprising, perhaps, though, is that Tea Party and conservative SuperPACs raised around three times as much as GOP establishment SuperPACs. The DC GOP may have started the war against the Tea Party, but it won't finish it. Not long after their stunning losses in 2012, Karl Rove and other establishment Republicans announced a new effort to engage in primaries to ensure the "right" candidates got the party's nomination. Rove...

If GOP consultant Karl Rove is trying to figure out why he’s struggling to rally support for his causes, maybe he should remember an old truth: that the Republican Party’s true strength is its conservative base. Donations to Rove’s three political groups have dropped an astounding 98 percent since he waged his war on the tea party. Much of that decrease may be because 2013 was not an election year. But the plunge can also be attributed to donors’ realization that Republican candidates generally win elections only when they act Republican and not “Republican light.” In 2012, Rove-founded groups took...

After wasting nearly $325 million during the 2012 election cycle with nothing to show for it and then declaring war on the Tea Party, donations to Karl Rove's three Crossroads groups decreased by 98% last year. The groups reportedly raised a paltry $6.1 million combined in 2013. .... Since then, as Breitbart News reported, "Rove’s organization has been so tarnished among the conservative base that candidates fear donors will not contribute to any group associated with him." Aware of this, Rove's Crossroads network has reloaded with groups that share donors but are technically not affiliated on paper with them.

Having watched several promising campaigns collapse in 2012 after candidates made catastrophic mistakes, national Republican leaders are leaving nothing to chance as they prepare for this year’s midterm elections. They’re summoning contenders—especially those who seem inexperienced, unpredictable or inclined to provocative opinions—to first-of-a-kind training at the GOP’s Senate campaign headquarters to learn, in part, what not to say and how not to say it. […] Since the GOP’s disappointing 2012 showing, party attention has focused on the mistakes made. In addition to the Indiana and Missouri meltdowns and presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s defeat, campaign problems contributed to unforeseen Senate losses...

On Election Night 2012, Democrats had more than the reelection of President Obama to celebrate. Karl Rove, the mastermind Republican strategist hated and feared by Democrats, had a meltdown live on Fox News. A new documentary, "Mitt," Greg Whiteley's film of Mitt Romney and his family during his 2008 and 2012 presidential bids, released on Netflix on Friday, sheds more light on that bizarre incident. Rove's famous hissy-fit took place when the network called the state of Ohio for Obama, putting the president over the 270 electoral votes needed to win reelection. Rove argued that Fox's analysts had acted prematurely.